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SYROS, GREECE
Irina's hand cut through the crystal clear water with a practiced ease. Her body lay out in the buoyant liquid with the effort of her arms and legs. Her head ducked into the water and her straight body contorted to execute a somersault turn. Underneath the water her legs connected with the tiled wall and torpedoed her toward the other side of the pool. Her strokes began anew, until she touched the other wall.
Raising herself out of the water to plant her feet on the shallow ended bottom of the pool, Irina attempted to steady her breathing. She grabbed the water bottle from the pool's edge and drank slowly as she exited the water.
She had read recently that excessive running pulls blood away from the forming fetus to concentrate it on the large leg muscles; the study went on to suggest water workouts as a likely alternative for exercise during pregnancy. Once she reached the five month mark she had switched to light weights and water fitness to stay healthy along with the occasional walk to the beach or town.
As she toweled herself off, she savored the heat of the sun as it caressed her body. She considered lounging outside under the clear sky but thought better of it when she remember what she was wearing. The made-for-water sports bra two piece left her stomach exposed to the sun's harsh radiation. Although lathered in sunscreen she wasn't about to risk the radiation passing through the thin layers of epidermis.
After a quick snack of karpouzee, Irina dressed for the day. By the time she had
showered, dressed and haphazardly dried her hair, she was exhausted. Her body begged her to rest and she was all too willing to comply, stretching out across the king sized mattress. She didn't hear a car pull up to the house nor was she aware of footsteps traipsing throughout the room.
Jack stilled his arm on the open door and instead focused on the bed. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he watched the slumbering body reclined atop the mattress. Quickly, Jack swept the rest of the room with his eyes, looking for indicators of Irina's deception, but found none.
Forcing his body to once again take the order to move, Jack gently shut the door and stepped farther into the room. A sharp edge of terror ripped through his calm façade at the prospect of waking the sleeping form. But he was unable to ascertain whether the fear was rooted in Irina's deathly capabilities or the prospect of having to look at her as they spoke.
He had never been more thankful to the inventor of the telephone than he was a month before. It was so much easier to exorcise his hatred for Irina when he didn't have to look right at her. She had a compulsive habit of always seeking out his eyes as they spoke, going back to their forth month dating.
{FLASHBACK}
They had been in the library for the better part of the day, studying for finals before Christmas. Irina had become bored with her work and instead began to watch Jack ponder over his. She fiend reading her Comparative Literature text while keeping her eyes well trained on her companion.
Irina studied his face closely, looking for flaws, something she could focus on when she was with him so that his charm and gentleness didn't sweep her away. As she looked at Jack's face she frowned slightly, realizing something was missing. Her frown continued until Jack looked up.
"What?" He asked.
The moment Jack's eyes rose and encountered her own, she knew she was lost. Her target, her assignment and mark had succeeded in sweeping her off her feet; he managed to make her forget all things KGB. While that left her with a fleeting thought of worry over how her handler would react if he found out, his eyes brought her back to just the two of them.
"What?" She returned in surprise at being caught. She cursed herself for not being more articulate; however her mind was racing a mile a minute trying to catch up to the destination her heart had found months before.
"Laura, you've been watching me for over half an hour. I'd feel less scrutinized if I were a lab experiment. What's going on in that beautiful head of yours." His eyes roved her face but he felt her own eyes desperately trying to catch his.
"Nothing." She said finally, giving up on meeting his eyes again.
"Okay." Jack grinned and dropped his head back to his work. But her eyes didn't leave his form, distracting him from his own work. He pretended to ignore her, thinking she would eventually tell him what was on her mind.
"Jack look at me." He lifted his head again when Laura commanded it. Waiting for her to continue, he calmly stared into her large brown orbs. "I love you." She said without her gaze shifting.
"I know you do." Jack smiled. "I love you too."
"No." She implored. "I mean.....I love you." She said again with complete seriousness.
The two watched each other across the table carefully. Finally Irina's lips began to twitch upward but her eyes stayed trained on his. Jack's own mask of contemplation broke and he too felt his lips twitching. Before either of them knew it they were poorly trying to cover their laughter.
However, Jack's laughter died when he caught a gleam in Laura's eye. Her smile went from playful to sultry in a matter of seconds and before he could comment she was out of her chair. Feeling the eyes of everyone in the library on them, Jack watched self-consciously as Laura strode around the table and placed herself in his lap.
"Laura, what are you doing?" Jack asked quietly.
"I'm just making sure everyone knows I love you." She maintained her smile.
"You could take an ad out in the school newspaper, at least we won't get kicked out of the library for that." He felt her hands travel up his neck and circle it.
"Jack." She said softly.
"Yes." He returned.
"Shut up." She chuckled at his surprise and kissed him passionately. It only took a
moment for him to forget the many other students and professors in the library preparing for finals as he got lost in the taste of Laura's lips.
Before anyone in the library could whistle or make a comment, Irina had pulled herself off Jack's lap and re-claimed her seat across from him. She dropped her head to her books and began the grueling task of studying; however, this time she and Jack were both smiling.
{END FLASHBACK}
Jack stood over the bed Irina currently occupied, wondering for the first time in over thirty years what Irina had been thinking about that day in the university library. She had never actually told him and knowing what he did now it was not a simple 'I love you'.
Startled out of his thoughts, Jack watched Irina shift her position on top of the bed yet remain asleep. He had to control his snicker, he could have easily killed Irina and she still wouldn't have woken while his was in process. The internal snicker turned to confusion, realizing that had he been anyone else Irina would be dead. She was not reacting as a trained spy should; she should have heard his car pulling into the drive, not to mention the time he spent making his way to the bedroom.
A flash of olive skin shattered his line of thought. The movement had twisted Irina's clothing around and left her stomach bare. Jack tempered his quickening of breath with the
tightening of his fist. A sense of dejà vu overtook him as he remember countless times he had watched Irina's stomach while she was pregnant with Sydney.
It was rounded and protruded quite a bit yet she still would have been able to hide it if she were so inclined. His hand reached out of its own accord in an effort to touch what he knew would be soft flesh covering a strangely firm lump. His fingers stretched out and inched closer to their intended target but at the last second Irina moved.
Her heard her groan and shift on the bed. Her breathing changed to indicate her arrival to the conscious world and her eyes fluttered open. With the sun at his back, Jack was sure that he was encased in a shadow, Irina would not be able to see him fully.
He acknowledged how right he was when in one smooth motion she bolted upright in bed and had dragged a knife through his flesh....
Please Review (-:
SYROS, GREECE
Irina's hand cut through the crystal clear water with a practiced ease. Her body lay out in the buoyant liquid with the effort of her arms and legs. Her head ducked into the water and her straight body contorted to execute a somersault turn. Underneath the water her legs connected with the tiled wall and torpedoed her toward the other side of the pool. Her strokes began anew, until she touched the other wall.
Raising herself out of the water to plant her feet on the shallow ended bottom of the pool, Irina attempted to steady her breathing. She grabbed the water bottle from the pool's edge and drank slowly as she exited the water.
She had read recently that excessive running pulls blood away from the forming fetus to concentrate it on the large leg muscles; the study went on to suggest water workouts as a likely alternative for exercise during pregnancy. Once she reached the five month mark she had switched to light weights and water fitness to stay healthy along with the occasional walk to the beach or town.
As she toweled herself off, she savored the heat of the sun as it caressed her body. She considered lounging outside under the clear sky but thought better of it when she remember what she was wearing. The made-for-water sports bra two piece left her stomach exposed to the sun's harsh radiation. Although lathered in sunscreen she wasn't about to risk the radiation passing through the thin layers of epidermis.
After a quick snack of karpouzee, Irina dressed for the day. By the time she had
showered, dressed and haphazardly dried her hair, she was exhausted. Her body begged her to rest and she was all too willing to comply, stretching out across the king sized mattress. She didn't hear a car pull up to the house nor was she aware of footsteps traipsing throughout the room.
Jack stilled his arm on the open door and instead focused on the bed. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he watched the slumbering body reclined atop the mattress. Quickly, Jack swept the rest of the room with his eyes, looking for indicators of Irina's deception, but found none.
Forcing his body to once again take the order to move, Jack gently shut the door and stepped farther into the room. A sharp edge of terror ripped through his calm façade at the prospect of waking the sleeping form. But he was unable to ascertain whether the fear was rooted in Irina's deathly capabilities or the prospect of having to look at her as they spoke.
He had never been more thankful to the inventor of the telephone than he was a month before. It was so much easier to exorcise his hatred for Irina when he didn't have to look right at her. She had a compulsive habit of always seeking out his eyes as they spoke, going back to their forth month dating.
{FLASHBACK}
They had been in the library for the better part of the day, studying for finals before Christmas. Irina had become bored with her work and instead began to watch Jack ponder over his. She fiend reading her Comparative Literature text while keeping her eyes well trained on her companion.
Irina studied his face closely, looking for flaws, something she could focus on when she was with him so that his charm and gentleness didn't sweep her away. As she looked at Jack's face she frowned slightly, realizing something was missing. Her frown continued until Jack looked up.
"What?" He asked.
The moment Jack's eyes rose and encountered her own, she knew she was lost. Her target, her assignment and mark had succeeded in sweeping her off her feet; he managed to make her forget all things KGB. While that left her with a fleeting thought of worry over how her handler would react if he found out, his eyes brought her back to just the two of them.
"What?" She returned in surprise at being caught. She cursed herself for not being more articulate; however her mind was racing a mile a minute trying to catch up to the destination her heart had found months before.
"Laura, you've been watching me for over half an hour. I'd feel less scrutinized if I were a lab experiment. What's going on in that beautiful head of yours." His eyes roved her face but he felt her own eyes desperately trying to catch his.
"Nothing." She said finally, giving up on meeting his eyes again.
"Okay." Jack grinned and dropped his head back to his work. But her eyes didn't leave his form, distracting him from his own work. He pretended to ignore her, thinking she would eventually tell him what was on her mind.
"Jack look at me." He lifted his head again when Laura commanded it. Waiting for her to continue, he calmly stared into her large brown orbs. "I love you." She said without her gaze shifting.
"I know you do." Jack smiled. "I love you too."
"No." She implored. "I mean.....I love you." She said again with complete seriousness.
The two watched each other across the table carefully. Finally Irina's lips began to twitch upward but her eyes stayed trained on his. Jack's own mask of contemplation broke and he too felt his lips twitching. Before either of them knew it they were poorly trying to cover their laughter.
However, Jack's laughter died when he caught a gleam in Laura's eye. Her smile went from playful to sultry in a matter of seconds and before he could comment she was out of her chair. Feeling the eyes of everyone in the library on them, Jack watched self-consciously as Laura strode around the table and placed herself in his lap.
"Laura, what are you doing?" Jack asked quietly.
"I'm just making sure everyone knows I love you." She maintained her smile.
"You could take an ad out in the school newspaper, at least we won't get kicked out of the library for that." He felt her hands travel up his neck and circle it.
"Jack." She said softly.
"Yes." He returned.
"Shut up." She chuckled at his surprise and kissed him passionately. It only took a
moment for him to forget the many other students and professors in the library preparing for finals as he got lost in the taste of Laura's lips.
Before anyone in the library could whistle or make a comment, Irina had pulled herself off Jack's lap and re-claimed her seat across from him. She dropped her head to her books and began the grueling task of studying; however, this time she and Jack were both smiling.
{END FLASHBACK}
Jack stood over the bed Irina currently occupied, wondering for the first time in over thirty years what Irina had been thinking about that day in the university library. She had never actually told him and knowing what he did now it was not a simple 'I love you'.
Startled out of his thoughts, Jack watched Irina shift her position on top of the bed yet remain asleep. He had to control his snicker, he could have easily killed Irina and she still wouldn't have woken while his was in process. The internal snicker turned to confusion, realizing that had he been anyone else Irina would be dead. She was not reacting as a trained spy should; she should have heard his car pulling into the drive, not to mention the time he spent making his way to the bedroom.
A flash of olive skin shattered his line of thought. The movement had twisted Irina's clothing around and left her stomach bare. Jack tempered his quickening of breath with the
tightening of his fist. A sense of dejà vu overtook him as he remember countless times he had watched Irina's stomach while she was pregnant with Sydney.
It was rounded and protruded quite a bit yet she still would have been able to hide it if she were so inclined. His hand reached out of its own accord in an effort to touch what he knew would be soft flesh covering a strangely firm lump. His fingers stretched out and inched closer to their intended target but at the last second Irina moved.
Her heard her groan and shift on the bed. Her breathing changed to indicate her arrival to the conscious world and her eyes fluttered open. With the sun at his back, Jack was sure that he was encased in a shadow, Irina would not be able to see him fully.
He acknowledged how right he was when in one smooth motion she bolted upright in bed and had dragged a knife through his flesh....
Please Review (-: